The network that gave us The Sopranos is hoping to prove again that crime does pay, at least so far as subject matter for a weekly series. Set in Atlantic City in the 1920s, Boardwalk Empire starts just before Prohibition, with city movers and shakers holding a huge party and literally counting down the moments until the new national alcohol ban — and the illicit schemes that will keep the booze flowing — will make them even richer. Listen to the review above from NPR.
“Boardwalk Empire” is a well conceived, beautifully made series that has every reason to be great. Who doesn’t want to watch rum runners and gangsters on HBO? Yet, surprisingly, given the extraordinary talent and money behind it, “Boardwalk Empire” falls short. The series gets better and more engrossing with time, but it takes more than a few episodes for it to clear its throat, establish its bona fides and fall into storytelling stride. One possible reason is that the star, Steve Buscemi, is hard to accept in the lead role of Enoch Thompson, known as Nucky, Atlantic City’s dashingly corrupt treasurer. Nucky, half political boss, half gangster, is a dandified fixer who can charm suffragettes and terrify bootleggers and ward heelers. – from NYTimes
Series creator Terence Winter, a veteran of dozens of episodes of “The Sopranos” as producer and writer, says: “We wanted total authenticity for this series that would make you feel as if you had stepped back into another time. Everything from the gas-lit, sepia-toned interiors to the music—the sounds of Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker and Enrico Caruso in the background—had to be letter perfect.” – from WSJ